


Aequor; Terra Firma

by InkuisitivSkins



Series: LivMiles Drabbles / Prompts [14]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Mermaid, Dialogue Light, Eventual Romance, F/M, Mermaid Olivier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 10:16:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14103201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkuisitivSkins/pseuds/InkuisitivSkins
Summary: [Mermaid!AU] She had been forbidden to explore the surface of their underwater world, but curiosity got the better of her. After meeting someone both like and unlike her in many ways, their daily rendezvous eventually develop deeper, closer feelings between them. She was different, but so was he.





	Aequor; Terra Firma

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NorthernWall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthernWall/gifts).



> For a "writing prompts" askmeme on tumblr, #24 and E -- "Oh! It's you!” and magic.
> 
> Sent by my wonderful and sweet friend, Proverbialhatstand/NorthernWall <3 Thank you so much!
> 
> I hope it's okay that there's only really the mention of magic at the very end...? I thought since this is a fantasy AU of sorts, and magic exists in this world, having Olivier be a mythical creature would suffice. I'm really sorry if you wanted something different ;^; I had been wanting to write a short something for that LivMiles week drawing I did, so I really hope this is okay ;;
> 
> I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please don't hesitate to leave a kudos and/or comment <3

By now, he had come to visit her every day. 

They first met when he was out at the beach one afternoon, standing barefoot in the shallow water, holding out a fishing line in an attempt to catch something to later cook. She had also been hunting, and while her endeavors rarely led her to the ocean’s surface, fate had it so that day. She was glad she did, after meeting him for the first time. 

Initially, she watched from afar. His image was warped and blurred by the water through which she observed him, so she found herself hiding behind nearby outcroppings of rocks. Hidden, she was able to surface, peering at him with uninhibited vision. 

She had seen his kind before; they were like her and her kin-- yet, they were land-dwelling. Rather than having a fin to use when swimming, they had legs. She was familiar with the concept; some creatures that crossed her path in her daily life were tetrapods, yet her father had never permitted her to travel towards the surface. 

This was not the first time she disobeyed this particular order. She had seen their kind often, but this one was different. He had a calm air about him as he stared off into the wide expanse of the sea. He was dressed like the others, so she knew he was the seafaring type that travelled upon the water in large floating objects, but he was not loud, or dirty like the others. His skin and hair were different colors, but most of all, his face was much more pleasant to look at. She often felt herself drawing nearer to him with each passing day, curiously trying to get a closer look. 

Perhaps it was because she did not quite fit in with her kin. They had different interests and ideals than her, which was partially why she felt the desire to disobey the rules set. She was already somewhat of an outcast; being a surface-explorer would not worsen that. 

The first time he saw her, he had yelped loudly, frightening her and causing her to flee back down into the depths. Her father had told her stories of loud land-walkers who killed their kind in the past, so she had been wary of the loud, telltale signs of aggression in this species.

Faithfully, however, she returned the following day to find him in a new spot, doing the exact same thing. He held the stick out in front of him-- an action she later learned was him trying to hunt for fish-- in silence, staring wistfully. This time, she prepared herself for the hostility, ready to leap into combat with her poisonous spines if need be, yet the time did not come. Instead, upon him seeing her, his movements became slow and careful, and they simply stared at one another for the longest time. 

The following day, upon her return, he had made an attempt to communicate. He greeted her with a voice similar to the pitch and volume of her species, but when she attempted to reply, he showed no form of understanding. Her species had always been fond of more physical forms of communication rather than audible, so perhaps it was  _ her _ who was missing something, she wondered.

Still, he attempted to speak with her every day. She would come to the same spot, knowing he would be there, and each time he would smile and speak. Before long, she learned that “ _ hello _ ” was their form of greeting, so every time the word left him, she would smile, always unable to verbally respond. 

She also allowed herself to be seen more. She was cautious, always sitting just out of his reach in the water, yet enough so that her shoulders and the striped spines of her tail were visible. One day, he wandered closer to her after rolling up the cloth on his legs so it would not get wet, extending a hand to her. 

While the lower halves of their bodies were entirely different, their hands were the same. 

Confused and frustrated, she had turned around and left that day. Feelings within her were beginning to surface, and she in no possible way could even start to understand what they were. She was angry at her father for hiding such interesting and wonderful things from her, and angry at herself for possibly making herself such easy prey. 

That thought had instantly vanished from her mind the day he began to offer her food. She watched from afar as he, aware of her presence, would catch fish with the stick. He would smile at her, offering it to her in an attempt to draw her closer to the shore. 

She knew she was being stupid, yet at this point, she didn’t care. She swam to the sand, using her hands to maneuver herself once the water was too shallow for swimming, until she was about an arm’s length from him. 

His eyes had trailed down her body, his face growing red, for whatever reason. Suspiciously and carefully, she had reached out a hand to the fish, suddenly snatching it from him just in case it was all a ruse after all. Frozen, waiting for him to do something, she stared, until he obviously had no other motives. Unable to thank him in a way he would understand, that ended their visit for that day, with her turning with her fish and submerging once again. 

Every passing day was similar, save for their increasing closeness. Eventually, she allowed him to touch her, first on the shoulder, then on the tail. She sat in silence at he marvelled at her white and crimson stripes; at the difference in texture. She had started bringing him small treasures she found, like abandoned shells from the seafloor, all of which where happily accepted by him. Gift-giving was one of the first signs of courtship, so she was pleased that he always seemed grateful for them. 

Of course, at the time, she had no idea he didn’t understand. In addition to the giving of items, physical closeness and touch were also typical telltale signs that someone of her species was interested. He, however, seemed rather surprised and confused the day she met him as he sat upon the sand, her casually and happily crawling up to him and flopping onto him. 

It had knocked him over, almost flat on his back, as she laid with her body perpendicular on top of his. She knew she wasn’t heavy, so he could move if he wished-- yet, what she didn’t know, was that his shock and the deep blush on his features prevented him from doing so. 

She sat there for quite a good amount of time, sunning herself with her eyes shut comfortably. The poor man had not a single idea of what to do about this new predicament; with the half-naked fish woman seeming so comfortable, he didn’t  _ want _ to move her. 

He allowed her to lay on him until the sun fell in the sky. Once her sunning was over, she lifted herself on her arms, giving him a happy glance before slipping back into the water. 

After that day, she made sure to always have contact with him in some form. When he began telling her about the life of his species, she would sit beside him in the sand, their shoulders touching. When her skin was near drying out, she would lay in the water, yet her tail was always against his leg, making sure he didn’t leave without her knowing. 

One day, when he did not come, another came in his stead. This one, however, was loud, and hostile, and he attacked her when she waited for the other. Being in the sand rather than the water, she had no direct path of escape-- so, he drew a blade, slashing her across the arm. 

Without hesitation, she had swung, hitting him with her powerful tail, several of her poisonous spines sticking him. She never knew what happened to him, for he had fled, yet her poison had been strong enough to down sharks in the past, so she imagined he had fallen the same fate eventually. 

The one she loved returned later that day, worried, as if he already knew what happened. He came to her immediately, and while she was still ready for a fight and she was flighty at the sight of him, he effectively calmed her. 

He tore a strip of cloth from his clothing, wrapping her arm.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, eyes glued on the wound, while her eyes were on his. “I won’t let this happen to you ever again. I won’t be working with them any longer.”

She stared at him. 

He was silent for a long moment, before finally meeting her gaze with a small concerned smile, “I never told you my name. It’s Miles.”

Her blue eyes blinked. 

“I’m sure you have a name, huh? Can you tell it to me?”

She touched her tongue to the roof of her mouth, trying to work up the words. He watched, aware of the wheels turning in her head, patiently waiting to see if she had an answer. 

“Olivier,” she finally said, the first word spoken to him earning a large smile from him. 

He spent the remainder of the evening tending to her injury, before finally leaving her late in the night. She did not return home that night, simply out of a new fear that if she did not wait at the shore for him, she would never see him again. 

Miles did return the following day. However, this time, he brought something with him.

“Oh! It’s you!” He smiled, seemingly surprised that she had been waiting for him, which was a change from their typical meetings where he was waiting for her instead. “I have something for you, if you want.”

Her heart thudded; he was returning a gift. If their cultures were the same, that means he had finally reciprocated her courtship. He took a seat on the shore, Olivier wordlessly coming to sit beside him as part of their everyday ritual, watching as he produced a vial. 

“I know someone who practices magic and potionmaking,” he began, showing the container to her. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but… I would like you to come with me. I’m leaving this place.”

She tilted her head somewhat, curious. 

He seemed to understand, “This will make you like me.”

Olivier glanced back at her tail, causing him to nod an affirmative to her silent question. 

“Would you like that? I would like you to be with me,” he smiled gently. 

A heat rose to her face; one that she had become very familiar with over the course of them knowing one another. She glanced at the ocean once more; her siblings knew of her daily rendezvous, so they would know why she went missing. They were the only ones who really mattered to her. 

Turning back to him and his warm, beautiful, gentle expression, she reached out a hand, taking the vial from him.

Returning his smile. 

 

 

\----

 

 


End file.
